The OER Knowledge Cloud makes use of cookies. By continuing, you consent to this use. More information.
Deconstructing disengagement: analyzing learner subpopulations in massive open online courses
Kizilcec, René F. · Piech, Chris · Schneider, Emily

PublishedApril 2013
ConferenceLAK '13: Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge
Pages 170-179
CountryUnited States, North America

ABSTRACT
As MOOCs grow in popularity, the relatively low completion rates of learners has been a central criticism. This focus on completion rates, however, reflects a monolithic view of disengagement that does not allow MOOC designers to target interventions or develop adaptive course features for particular subpopulations of learners. To address this, we present a simple, scalable, and informative classification method that identifies a small number of longitudinal engagement trajectories in MOOCs. Learners are classified based on their patterns of interaction with video lectures and assessments, the primary features of most MOOCs to date.

In an analysis of three computer science MOOCs, the classifier consistently identifies four prototypical trajectories of engagement. The most notable of these is the learners who stay engaged through the course without taking assessments. These trajectories are also a useful framework for the comparison of learner engagement between different course structures or instructional approaches. We compare learners in each trajectory and course across demographics, forum participation, video access, and reports of overall experience. These results inform a discussion of future interventions, research, and design directions for MOOCs. Potential improvements to the classification mechanism are also discussed, including the introduction of more fine-grained analytics.

Keywords MOOC · learner engagement · trajectories of engagement

Published atCalifornia
LanguageEnglish
RefereedYes
DOI10.1145/2460296.2460330
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar


Viewed by 549 distinct readers




CLOUD COMMUNITY REVIEWS

The evaluations below represent the judgements of our readers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cloud editors.

Click a star to be the first to rate this document


POST A COMMENT
SIMILAR RECORDS

Digging deeper into learners' experiences in MOOCs: Participation in social networks outside of MOOCs, notetaking and contexts surrounding content consumption
Veletsianos, George; Collier, Amy; Schneider, Emily
Researchers describe with increasing confidence what they observe participants doing in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, our understanding of learner activities in open courses is limited by researchers' ...
Match: Schneider, Emily

MOOCs for professional teacher development
Jobe, William; Östlund, Christian; Svensson, Lars
A MOOC is a trending concept in education that is disrupting traditional methods of learning consumption. The emergence and use of MOOCs for professional teacher development is still uncommon, but on the verge of ...
Match: MOOC; United States

Adoption of MOOCs by Emerging Countries Seeking Solutions to University Overcrowding: Literature Review and Feedback from the First Scientific MOOC Held by Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdullah University - Fez, Morocco
Naji, Khadija; Ibriz, Abdelali; Mourdi, Youssef
The adoption of various forms of distance education, particularly MOOCs (an acronym for Massive Open Online Courses), by universities worldwide has continuously gained momentum over the past decade. This is due not only ...
Match: MOOC

Evaluation of the UNED MOOCs implementation: Demographics, learners' opinions and completion rates
Gil-Jaurena, Inés; Callejo-Gallego, Javier; Agudo, Yolanda
The paper is a study about the MOOC experience at the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED), where we have collected initial and final information about learners' profiles and opinions, as well as ...
Match: MOOC

Merging MOOC and mLearning for increased learner interactions
de Waard, Inge; Koutropoulos, Apostolos; Hogue, Rebecca J.; Abajian, Sean C.; et al.
In this paper, the authors suggest the merger of the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) format and mobile learning (mLearning) based on mutual affordances of both contemporary learning/teaching formats to investigate ...
Match: MOOC

Why MOOCs while dealing with large numbers of distance learners
Aydin, Cengiz Hakan
This webinar focuses on a long-time open and distance learning provider institution’s MOOCs initiative. It does not only provide an insight about the instructional, assessment, and managerial strategies but also ...
Match: MOOC

Towards a world tour for shared OER
Jeans, Nick; Pepler, Giles; Bacsich, Paul
This report (a PDF file) is the first deliverable (out of three) of the study called A scoping study on the potential of shared, cross-border OER and syllabi in Europe - in short, SharedOER - that was carried out by ...
Match: North America

Reflection on MOOC design in Palestine
Affouneh, Saida; Wimpenny, Katherine; Ghodieh, Ahmed; Alsaud, Loay; Obaid, Arij
This paper will share Discover Palestine, an interdisciplinary Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) and the first MOOC to be created in Palestine, by the E-Learning Centre, Faculty from the Department of Geography, and ...
Match: MOOC

Case study on using MOOC materials in a small private online course
Chen, Whai-En; Uden, Lorna; Liberona, Dario; Feldmann, Birgit
In National Ilan University, we utilize Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as the courseware in a Small Private Online Course (SPOC). In this paper, we share the experience that how we manage and operate the SPOC ...
Match: MOOC

Gamification in MOOCs to enhance users' goal achievement
Antonaci, Alessandra; Klemke, Roland; Stracke, Christian M.; Specht, Marcus
Gamification in engineering education has been applied with success in the last years. Also, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are recognized as a good strategy to enhance engineering education. Nevertheless, MOOCs ...
Match: MOOC